Plum-Orange Purée

Liven up a plain cake or summer cut of meat with a drizzle of this beautiful fruit sauce.

Blood-orange juice adds to the deep, reddish-purple color of the purée, but you can use any fresh orange juice. Use leftover purée to top yogurt or ice cream or to baste pork chops or flank steak on the grill.

Yield: about 3 cups

Ingredients

2 pounds red or black plums

1 cup freshly squeezed blood-orange juice

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

5 T. sugar, divided

4 whole cloves

PreparationPreheat oven to 400 degrees F. Halve plums, remove pits and place in single layer, skin-side up, in large baking dish. Stir together juices and 2 tablespoons sugar, and pour over plums. Add cloves. Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes. Remove pan from oven and cool on wire rack until plums are cool enough to handle. Slip off and discard skins. Remove cloves.

In food processor or blender, purée cooked plums and pan juices until smooth. Pour into medium-sized saucepan, and stir in remaining sugar. Simmer slowly over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 40 minutes or until mixture is reduced by 1/3. Purée will thicken as it cools, so cool completely or chill before serving.